


A Starting Point

by ParadoxR



Series: Hit the Sky [6]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Beginnings, Comfort/Angst, Friendship, Gen, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2014-10-03
Packaged: 2018-02-16 10:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2266923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParadoxR/pseuds/ParadoxR
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Apophis rose, Captain Samantha Carter realized her work had catalyzed an interstellar war. Doctor Daniel Jackson realized his bed was empty. The start of Sam and Daniel's friendship, as they both reel from the war's first effects. Standalone, or part two of the “The Flash Point”.</p><p>Also the start of Sam and Janet's friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Previously

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bethanyactually](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethanyactually/gifts).



> Thank you to bethanyactually for the beta and for convincing me to post this.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two brief excerpts from “The Flash Point” (the story before this in the series), for those that didn't read it.

“Jack, we have to go back out there! You’re a special ops colonel!”

“There’s a  _reason_  colonels can’t go ‘out there’, Daniel. This is a war. I have a responsibility to the people here.”

“Exactly!” Daniel almost shakes him.

“I have a responsibility to  _not_  shoot them across the galaxy with someone who hasn’t been active in the field since  _1987._ ”

_That makes sense._ Daniel finds something to slam. “Dammit, Jack! My  _wife_  is out there! We have to go!”

Jack tightens his grip on the locker. “Do you want to write the letter to Lou’s wife? To Warren’s? To Cho’s? Do you want to explain to them how in my zeal to save someone I loved, I killed someone  _they_  love?”

Daniel pauses, panting. He sniffs.

That one is definitely a sob.

_Help_ _him, you emotionally-inhibited bastard._ “Just hang on.” Jack raises a hand to his back.

“I have to  _do_ something.”

 

_You’ve doomed this planet._  Another tear leaks out. She’s worked so damned hard on this terrible project.

_‘Let’s not fool ourselves here, people. We’d all be much better off if our Stargate had been left in the ground. And given what just happened on Chulak, that may be where it goes.’_

Sam pushes her tattered body to its feet. If she’s going to spend the night blaming herself for catalyzing a galactic war, she better damn well do something productive with it.

So now she’s pacing the hallways methodically, memorizing them. It’s not difficult, but it’s not automatic yet. Or it wasn’t. It’s been three hours.  _You’re the reason Apophis will destroy all this._

_Memorize the hallways, Captain._


	2. Previously

He’s chewing on his pencil.

It’s hard to tell at first; the lights are off. She can’t remember if the commissary lighting is on sensor or switch, so she fumbles along the wall for a second. Nothing. He must not have moved in a while.

Sam hesitates, shifting the laptop under her arm. She’s used to the absent-minded professor bunch, to finding her researchers drowning in their notebooks. But the desperation in his eyes freezes her. They haven’t really talked before. They’re certainly not friends, at least not the kind he needs right now.

Doctor Jackson scribbles another note. A stray photograph flutters to the floor.

The lights reactivate before she’s picked it up.

“Hi.” Sam holds the photo out to him. It’s part of the Abydos cartouche.

Someone just made a noise.“Em hotep.” Daniel answers automatically.

“Im hotep.” Sam replicates. Apparently she’s learning Ancient Egyptian now. Or maybe Mayan.

“Dii.”

He doesn’t seem that mad, so Sam just nods. “Dii.”

He snatches the photograph out of her hand.

Sam toasts him a bagel.

 

“Couldn’t sleep?” She pulls up a chair to set the bagel on. His coffee barely even fits on the table, and she nudges it back automatically. One of the notebooks shifts, but nothing falls.

_Cou, ul, dn, t, sl, ee, p. ‘Your’, ‘heavy’, ‘his’… ‘work’?_

Sam coughs quietly.

 _Coul, dnt, sleep._ Ah. “Too much to do.” His leg is bouncing rapidly. It sends ripples through his cold coffee.

“You can’t stay awake forever, Doctor.” Sam sets her laptop on a clear table.

“I will.”

She compromises _‘I know the feeling’_ with _‘he’s not being productive’_ and sits down at the clear table.

 

This sucks.

 _Very mature, Sam._ She presses her fingers against her closed eyes. With her left hand. Her right is still bandaged. The left is, too. It grates against the burned flesh. And it smells like stale bagel.

 _‘Chevron locking requires two separate voltage spikes in the secondary control crystal. Each one can be generated in at least three ways.’_ Backspace. _‘…Four ways.’_ There’s no coffee mug where hers should be. Her sun-blistered skin is flaking onto the new Micron keyboard.

Daniel’s scratching his bandaged arm. She supposes it’s good that hurts him less than it did.

But it’s starting to drive her nuts.

_‘Red-green crystals represent one of three types of diodes. Four inch versions belong in the Charlie section of the device and—’_

Daniel yawns.

 _Damn him._ Sam’s own motion sucks another hour of sleep out of her. _You didn’t stay here to get upset at the man, Sam._ Still, he’s much further ahead on sleep than she is, between Chulak and the broken-DHD planet.

_‘The lab director’s office again strongly recommends we implement all…’_

The lights turn off.

Sam chucks her pen across the empty commissary.

It doesn’t work.

 _Damn cheap sensors._ That upgrade definitely isn’t in the budget. She stands painfully, favoring her less-flogged side.

They’re about equal.

The lights turn on. Sam sees him then, in the washed-out glare. Pale, winded, tear-stained. Terrified.

She can’t just let him go like this. They need him to function. Sam sucks in a breath. “Hey, Daniel.”

“Gai si!”

 _Crap._ “Err...”

“Sorry.” Daniel looks up at her, immediately under control. And in English. She’s more than impressed.

Of course, now she’s distracted him and has no idea what to do with it. Personal conversations with virtual strangers aren’t her forte. Meetings need concrete objectives, as far as she’s concerned. _Your objective is to get him operational again, Captain. _She should’ve called the colonel. _Maybe you shouldn’t have yelled at your retired superior officer._

Daniel blinks up at the younger woman, slowly remembering her presence over the last several eternities. He lets out a long breath and admits defeat. “This isn’t working.”

“What’s the roadblock?” Sam asks softly. She’ll find a way to help; they need to fix this. And she sure as heck isn’t going to pass up an easy topic of conversation.

_An easy conversation about how to save the planet where you lit a huge stone ‘come enslave us all’ beacon for a sociopathic alien warlord?_

Daniel watches her brow furrow with concern. He has the sudden urge to just grab her and cry.


	3. Maybe If I Hadn’t

“This.” This is the roadblock. Daniel tenses again. “There’s nothing _in_ here.” _You have to do something._

Sam swallows her standard ‘are you sure, Doctor?’ as he speeds up.

“I mean, I’ve been doing this for a year. I’ve already been through all this. Every address, every line. I know better than to stare at these. There’s nothing…” _She’s gone._

Sam’s even worse with crying strangers, but she puts a tentative hand on his shoulders. They’re heaving gently.

“I can’t.” Daniel stumbles, looking for his former resolve. _You have to stay strong. She needs you to stay strong._ “I have to save her.” His breaths dry out into painful heaves. Daniel finds the nearest person. “I just need to _do_ something.” They have to understand.

Sam nods. “Then let’s do something.” _Do what?_

Daniel looks at the captain, suddenly excited. “What?”

 _Great going, Sam._ “Err…well…”

He deflates. “It’s ok. God, it must be the middle of the night.” What is she doing here, anyway?

Sam rifles through her options. The Abydos notes are all they really have. “Is Teal’c awake?”

Daniel shakes a weighted head. “Still healing. Doctor Fraiser kicked me out until morning.” And God, does he need to talk to him. The alien’s their only lead, and they can barely communicate. “He’s still upset.”

Sam nods awkwardly. “He comes all the way here, and we can’t even promise him we’re _going_ to fight for another three days.”

“ _I’m_ going to fight.” Daniel retorts too quickly.

Sam corrects herself. “I am, too.”

“Not like that.” He doesn’t give a damn about DC anymore. _You have to save her._ Whether or not Jack shows up.

“I’d go with you.” This almost surprises Sam, but it’s true. She’d leave with this man if they’re destroying the Gate. She can’t imagine being stranded on Earth again, hopeless. _You have to save this world._

“You would.” The doctor swallows his question mark at the last second, so Sam just sits still.

 _You promised him you’d do something._ “I never really apologized about ignoring your question on the abandoned town.” Sam swallows. “Maybe if I hadn’t…”

Daniel looks up at her attentively. “And if I’d asked Teal’c about it instead of you, you could’ve gotten us off that planet a lot easier.” He owes her his life, that much is clear. He shakes his head diplomatically. “Jack was right. We can’t blame ourselves for screwing up things no one’s ever done before.”

Sam grimaces. “That’s not actually what he said.”

“It’s what he meant.”

The answer is too definitive. These guys all know each other so well. _So prove yourself._ It’s that, though, that finally sets the light bulb off. “You want to be in the field?”

Daniel’s head shoots up. “Yes!” _‘Do you want to tell Lou’s wife?’_ He freezes. “Err…I mean, no.” He could never put another spouse though this pain.

“No?” _Damn._ Sam’s surprised. He’d seemed so desperate earlier. She studies his downcast forehead for another option.

Daniel finally looks up. He exhales into the captain’s thoughtful gaze. “I can’t hurt anyone else.”

Sam swallows. She’s by far the guiltiest person on the planet for that crime. _Two years_ in DC convincing them to use her work on the Gate. _This isn’t about you, Captain._ So she smiles, broad and forced. “You won’t hurt me, Doctor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I exhausted my Ancient Egyptian at about word three of this, though I do think that the 'Di' vowel is "Die". It means something like "give". The curse is Mandarin.


	4. Never Good Enough

“Ooof.” Daniel rubs his back good-naturedly. In the seventh spot. It doesn’t hurt, but she must be out of ways to knock him down on just his good arm.

“Yeah.” Sam guides him up against the boxing ring. She hops the ropes and hands him a water bottle off the gym floor. “And I’m not even a Jaffa. Heck, I’m not even Lou.”

“I’d think Lou would be pretty good at this.”

She chuckles. “He’s been doing stuff like this every day of his working life for about twelve years.”

That’s slowly starting to sink in on Daniel. _You’ll never get good enough._ “Yeah, but he doesn’t speak Ancient Egyptian!” He raises his fists again. Sam nudges them farther up.

“You’ll be very valuable around here, Doctor. I wouldn’t worry about that.” Sam brings his arm forward in slow motion, showing him the form. They’re not sparring. She just wants him to move around some.

“You think they’ll let me out there again?”

She adjusts his feet. Let Daniel meet potential hostiles that _might_ speak a language only a thousand years removed from something on Earth? When the military has thousands of combat-ready linguists? She lets him land a weak punch before lowering him to the floor again.

“You’re still going easy on me, aren’t you?” Daniel jokes, rolling to his knees. She takes him through it in slow motion.

“Yes.” Sam catches his wrist gently and checks his pulse again.

Daniel sighs. “So what about you? Will you go back out?” At least he’s falling the way she taught him.

“Maybe.”

“ _Maybe?_ ” he repeats. She puts a fake punch on his shoulder. Presumably a punch. It could’ve been a kick with how fast she is.

“I’m not qualified for this yet.”

_Wow. Really?_ “How long you been doing it?”

Sam shrugs and pushes his feet farther apart. “Combatives? I’ve had a little for most of my life, but I didn’t really get into it until USAFA.”

“The Air Force Academy.” Daniel tries to block two blows that halt just shy of his ear. “Why’s that?”

Sam grins into his falling shoulder. “Someone told me I couldn’t.”

_Note to self._ Daniel kicks at her from the floor. He ends up with a bladed hand at his throat.

“Just what do you two think you’re doing?!”


	5. Our Future Health (Sam & Janet)

“Stress release.” Sam answers flatly. It’s more contact yoga than close quarters combat. _You’re in trouble._

“I see. Captain, may I talk to you for a moment?”

Daniel offers her an apologetic grimace as Sam drops her feigned strike hand and carefully climbs through the ropes. She lands next to their chief medical officer.

“Yes, Doctor?”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Janet asks, seething through her teeth. She doesn’t let her patient speak. “I presume you know the meaning of ‘no strenuous activity whatsoever’, Captain?”

“Doctor, his wife is missing. That _is_ strenuous activity.”

“Bullcrap. Two injured patients out here alone at 0640? Do you want me to lock you up in the infirmary?”

Sam glares next to her superior’s eyebrow. She does _not_ need to deal with a power play right now. “We’re not injured that badly.” Daniel’s arm is still cut up, but it’s slow motion stuff. Both their heart rates are fine. _You hurt. _No, she aches. All her welts hurt pretty badly, though.

“The hell you aren’t! You were knocked unconscious by an alien electrical shock not eighteen hours ago! I have _no_ idea what that did.” Janet catches her breath. She has _no idea_ what that did.

Sam pauses. _She’s scared._ Welcome to the club, Doc. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Good—”

“But he needs to learn this.” Well, maybe. But she lives her life in probabilities.

“No.” Janet says, only because hitting the captain would be counterproductive.

“Doctor, there’s a chance that Daniel Jackson is going to be on another alien planet three days from now.” A small chance, but still justifiable. _It’s still your responsibility._ “So do you want to treat him for pulled stitches now, or a kicked-in kidney later?”

Janet glares through the ultimatum.“Then teach him something else.” _She’s right._ God, this place is miserable.

Sam doesn’t relent. “Doctor, you’re concerned about our present health. I’m concerned about our _future_ health.”

“ _Teach him_ something else.” But she does not like ultimatums.

It takes her another beat, but Sam nods. _She’s right._ _You’re being rash again._ “I wouldn’t have hurt him.”

Janet sighs. “I know.” And she’s pretty sure she does.

Sam grimaces and turns to Daniel. He’s nervous. _Think of something._

 _You like her._ Unyieldingly concerned. Janet looks for something not to like. “Captain.” The captain turns. “Call me Janet.”

She smiles, surprised. “Sam.”

“Playtime over?” Daniel calls from the ropes.

“Afraid so.”

It makes his heart start racing. “Say, you wanna learn some Goa’uld? Teal’c’s been teaching me.” He _can’t_ be alone right now.

Sam perks up at that. “Is it morning yet? Would Teal’c see me?”

Not what he’d been thinking of, but “Yeah. Actually, he’d love to.” Daniel weaves through the ropes. At least that he’s good at. “I explained to him how you saved his life. He’s a pretty big fan, in fact.”

“See, there you go.” Janet says from behind them. “In the infirmary and everything.” _Thank God._ She swipes the lights off as they walk out the door. “And you two better hope you didn’t pull out any stitches.”


	6. Good for Her (Janet & Sam & Daniel)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to bethanyactually for the wonderful beta!

Daniel coughs slightly.

Sam turns to him, surprised by how quickly she’s attuned to the little noise. _After three days of of barely whispering on an alien planet?_ He mimes something to her, but she already understands. Apparently Daniel doesn’t believe in baby steps. 

Sam blows out a breath. “Ahem, Janet?” _  
_

“Hmm?” Janet glaces backwards. The young captain is clearly fighting to seem relaxed, either against the question or the welts along her back. _Of course she _’d_ go sparring after that mission. _Sam’s going to be as bad as the guys.

Good for her.

Don’t tell her that.

Sam finally stops walking. She smiles nervously. “Can I bring a staff weapon into your infirmary?”

Janet stumbles headlong over the big picture. _A week into active duty, and you’re wearing captain’s insignia and being asked to allow an alien’s energy-gun into your own infirmary._ She chuckles. “Don’t break anything.” And they have about twenty minutes before she sedates both exhausted teammates.

Daniel resists the urge to pump his fist. “Sam, what’re you…?” He reaches out she jogs to the nearest phone.  _Can’t you just take yes for an answer?_  Who knows, maybe they’d actually get something useful between their one alien and their one alien artifact.

“Captain Carter for the ranking officer on duty.” General Hammond won’t be in yet, which is honestly a relief. Sam’ll never get used to having a general this close in her chain of command.

The operator’s line buzzes in response. “Major Castleman.”

“This is Captain Carter, sir. I’d like to sign out the Jaffa staff weapon Doctor Jackson brought back.”

Castleman sighs at the pre-0700 chipperness. “Whaddaya want to do with it, Captain?” _Does this kid ever sleep?_

“I’d like to work through the technology with Mister Teal’c, sir. No live fire.”

“ _In_ the infirmary?”

Sam pauses. “Unless he’s being released, sir.” Worth a shot.

Personally, Frank would feel safer ‘releasing’ him into a holding cell, but it’s not his call.

“Doctor Fraiser has approved, sir.” Sam says into the silence.

Frank sighs. Apparently he’s about to risk letting a defecting alien to break out of a closing-down nuclear bunker. “Don’t let him near it. And lock down the room.” He really hates this job.

Sam grimaces. “Yes, sir.”

“I’m holding you accountable for everything you break, Captain.”

“Sir, I wouldn’t break…” Sam’s talking to static. She clips the phone back on the receiver.

“That a no?” Daniel prods. He’s getting sick of the military calling all his shots. _Teal’c almost dies for you, you almost die for the staff weapon, and they imprison both of them._  Brilliant. He fidgets with his photographs and drops one.

“It’s a yes.” Sam offers. She cups his shoulder on her way to the elevator.

Janet scoops up the dropped photograph.


	7. Brazen When We Must (Janet & Daniel & Sam)

“Why does she do that, anyway?”

Janet glances at the archeologist. It’s amazing the level of distraction he can achieve in under a minute. “Do what, Doctor?”

“‘Daniel.’ ” He tries to push his glasses up and realizes his hands are still full. “Ask twice. For everything.” He’s the one that managed to get the staff back, but apparently _he_ doesn’t get a say around here. It’s hard to fidget walking this quickly, but he’s doing a pretty good job.

Janet would smile if she weren’t so worried about him. This mountain may end up needing her bachelor’s in psych more than her MD. “It’s the military, Daniel.” She holds open the door to her infirmary. It’s almost deserted, and she’s still upset about letting the…astronauts leave so soon. At least Daniel and Sam stayed; she’s most worried about them anyway.

“So I’m supposed to just listen to some ‘jarhead’ on the phone about how to investigate my own wife’s kidnapping?” Daniel finds himself pacing in circles and stops. “Sorry. Doctor.” He can’t stand still.

Janet elects to shrug amiably. “Honestly, I’m probably a bad person to ask about officers’ protocols.”

Daniel breaks his eyes from Teal’c’s door. _He knows how to find her. How to beat them._ If Daniel could just ask the right questions. “You’re a captain.”

Janet manages not to visibly bask in the glory of distracting him. “Medical doctors commission as captains, Daniel.” She smiles and pours him a cup of coffee. “We become majors in about three years. This is actually my first assignment.” Decaf, no sugar. Her patient makes an inadvertent face and starts flipping through his notes again. Janet manages not to fidget alongside him.

“Oh.” _Who’re you talking to?_

She watches the archaeologist dig into whatever corner of his mind he’s started hiding in. “From what I know, the military is a calculated risk machine.” She explains to thin air. “We’re cautious whenever we can be and brazen when we must be.” Personally, she thinks folks around here like brazen a little too much. “Sam just sees the risks of studying alien energy rifles.” Better than Janet does, by a lot. But she’s going to trust the captain for now.

Daniel’s head vibrates more than shakes. “Teal’c’s not going to hurt anyone. Not us. And Sam is like this about everything. She’s so…” He fades off. _What’s wrong with you?_

Janet smirks. Sam does seem to inhabit an odd netherworld between perfectly strict professionalism and ‘you better duck before I throw this chip on my shoulder at you’. It’d be funny if it weren’t so off-putting from one of the officers she’s met. Janet’s smile falls slightly. Actually, she doesn’t really know _any_ other female operations officers. And she doesn’t envy the woman her chipped shoulder.

“Kinda empty in here.” Daniel stands at the kitchenette and forces himself to look around. To look outside his head. _You’ll find her._

Janet curses her inattention. “Doctor, put the coffee down.”

Daniel glances between the non-decaf pot and the new mug he’s just filled. “I’m tired.” He blinks. _Yeah, tired enough to say that to a medical doctor._

“Exactly.” She actually takes it out of his hand. He stares at his palm for a second before she pokes him back into his chair.

He sits without actually collapsing.

“And yes, it is empty in here.” Janet continues her decidedly iron-fisted control of the conversation. “Honestly, I was assigned here more as a clinic director.”

Daniel looks up incredulously, which is presumably the distraction she was going for. “A _clinic_?” Great, doesn’t he feel safer.

Janet cocks her head at the reclaimed conversation. “Surprised a war room in central Colorado isn’t setup for frontline triage?”

“Good point.” Daniel grimaces and swallows his decaf. No effect.

She chuckles. “We’ll be alright. It’s not a frontline design.” The infirmary is _seven levels_ from the Gate Room. She’s talking to Sam about that one. “But it is a Cold War bunker—we’ve got the resources of a small city, if we had the money to use them.” Of course, if it comes to that, it probably won’t be her running the joint.

“Sam!” Daniel bolts forward and reaches for the staff she’s cradling.

Sam smiles but holds it back from him. Daniel sometimes forgets that these are weapons rather than artifacts.

He heads directly for Teal’c’s door instead. _Relax , darnit. She’s trying to help you._ He frowns inwardly. “We were just talking about military protocol.”

Sam cocks her eyebrows at the odd topic. She doesn’t know how long Janet’s been in the Air Force, but it’s not very long. And Daniel’s…getting at something. “Oh?”

“Who was that on the phone?”

“Major Castleman.” Sam suppresses her grimace.

“ _Major_ Castleman is the ranking officer here?” Daniel waits for Janet to swipe her access card at the first door. “Isn’t major _under_ colonel?”

Sam nods. “But Colonel O’Neill isn’t here.” _Because he retired._ Though not before she’d  _yelled_ at him.Sam smiles placatingly at the guards who are trying very hard not to listen. “Lockdown Lima, please.” The sergeant confirms and keys his radio.  

“But General Hammond—” Daniel waits for Janet to code open the second door. A _major_ gets to decide when he pursues the _only_ lead in his wife’s kidnapping?

“Will be in later.” Sam turns to the apparently upset civilian. “It’s a reasonable rank for the decision, Daniel. General Hammond just came off commanding the _entire_ Fourteenth Air Force.” She’s still trying to wrap her head around that one.

_They come in numbers?_

Sam waits a beat. “The Fourteenth NAF has like twenty thousand people in it.” She supplies. “There are of us eighty-seven down here.”

Daniel grimaces at the opening door. He really doesn’t get the military. “Tek’ma’tek, Teal’c.”


	8. I Have Chosen (Daniel & Teal’c & Sam & Janet)

“Tek’ma’tek, Daniel Jackson.” The alien general replies.

“Tek’ma’tek, Teal’c.” Sam smiles and runs her hand along on the staff weapon. She thinks it’s the one she used on Chulak. It feels like a lifetime ago.

“Captain Carter.” Teal’c acknowledges.

Apparently she doesn’t warrant a tek’ma. Probably another reproductive organs thing. Sam exhales. “I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for us.” She pauses and enunciates. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome.”

Sam smiles more genuinely. He really has been incredible.

“Thank you, Captain Carter.”

“Oh, well. No problem.” Sam steps forward slightly. “You are welcome.” _Does he know how much of this mess is your fault?_

Teal’c inclines his head. It reminds her bizarrely of a computer shutting off. “Err, is that all?” Sam and whispers sideways to Daniel. She grips the staff.

Daniel manages to chuckle. “I guess. I think he’s still upset being stuck in here.” Daniel speaks up and switches languages.

_“Can you teach us how to defeat this weapon?”_

_“I cannot.”_

_“You don’t know how?”_ Daniel tries again, concerned.

_“Ma’tok staffs destroy all that enter their paths. Human beings are killed immediately.”_

Daniel manages not to grimace at the dogmatic air. _“But you have lived through many battles.”_

_“I do not enter their path.”_

_“Then what’s the armor for?”_ He keeps the tone even, but God, he hates brainwashed armies.

_“Jaffa can sometimes heal from such wounds. Humans cannot.”_

_“We can make better armor.”_ This earns the most skeptical eyebrow Daniel’s ever received. He pauses, but his grimace gets away from him. _“So that’s it? You come all this way and you’re just going to give up?”_

_“I do not surrender. I am imprisoned here by your race.”_

Daniel exhales. _“It’s… temporary.”_ He means it; Daniel would break the Jaffa out of here himself if it meant someone else to find Sha’re. _“You’ve acknowledged our intelligence. Sam made the broken Stargate work; you watched her.”_

Sam jerks at the sound of her name. At least, she assumes it’s meant to be her name by the stare it elicits from Teal’c. She stands straight and meets his eyes. _He’s just a general._ She focuses past him and into the concrete. _He’s just a general._

Teal’c pushes off the bed and advances towards them.

“Halt!”

He doesn’t.

“Hold fire!” Sam barks to the airman. But she can’t stop her step backwards.

Daniel walks forward and decides to lay a hand on Teal’c’s shoulder. _“We just need to talk to you.”_ Teal’c stops cold. _“You, uh, you can’t touch it.”_ The alien’s jaw flexes. _“I know, it’s not my rule. I _’d let you_.”_

Teal’c doesn’t move.

_“You are a good ally, Daniel Jackson.”_

Daniel lets out a breath he’s been holding since Chulak. _“Will you help us?”_

_“But you do not know with what you contend.”_

_I’d know if you’d tell me. _He manages not to react. Sam shifts beside him. “He’s…it’s ok. He thought he could touch it.”

“And now?” Sam asks evenly.

“He’s offended.”

_That_ should’ve been in her risk plan. “I’m sorry.” She really is. “Can you make him… unoffended?”

Daniel cringes her skeptically. “He’s not a computer, Sam.” That, and Daniel’s basically just as ‘offended’. He turns back to the looming presence. _“I’m sorry. I trust you. You are my ally. Unfortunately, we must obey these rules.”_ He says it straight-faced, but internally he starts counting the ways Teal’c has almost died for them. In three days. It takes a while.

_“You say the woman requests my assistance with my weapon.”_ Teal’c reiterates. The tone is as flat as ever, but it almost scalds Sam’s skin.

_“Yes, please.”_ Daniel repeats, still in front of her.

_“_ KREE TAK!”

It’s an explosion in the small room. Janet jumps. Yes, definitely a general.

_“I spare your lives, and you imprison me. You cannot use my weapon, but refuse to grant it to me._ Lo Chel'til. _This is undignified.”_

_“It’s not us, but the people that run this facility.”_ Daniel offers weakly. ‘Undignified’ sounds a lot worse in ancient Egyptian.

_“Then you shall accompany me away from here.”_

_“I would.”_ Daniel inserts readily.

_“The facility must be destroyed.”_

_“No!_ No, that’s… _No._ ”

Sam and Janet’s eyes jump to his brief English interlude. Daniel grimaces. He’s ready for the ‘break Teal’c out of here’ plan now. “Apparently Jaffa don’t subscribe to your version of the military, Janet.”

“Really?” She’s honestly surprised. It should say something about Jaffa culture, but it’s going to take her a while to write that memo.

“I guess.” Daniel looks between the one alien weapon and the one alien they have. _Damn Air Force._

Janet exhales and puts on her best bedside manner. “Tek’ma’tek, Teal’c.”

This draws both men’s anticipatory gazes. Well, she figures Teal’c’s is anticipatory, but it’s unnerving her either way. _Must you always jump in this far over your head? _Hasn’t she already learned she can’t heal everything? A hand shows up on her shoulder and she blows out a breath. _Thanks, Sam._

“I’m a healer for my people.” Daniel starts talking after her. “I know you’re upset about being stuck in here. I didn’t want it.” A bit of a fib, but she’s coming around. “You deserve better, after all you’ve done for us.”

Daniel smirks at his almost verbatim repetition, but the general seems to notice hearing it from a new source.

“And I know it must be hard to discuss this weapon with us.” Janet continues. “I’d be upset in your place, too. But…” She stops, ostensibly for Daniel’s translation. _So, easy part’s done._

_I’ve been in that place, dammit. _“But what would it be like if we were?” Sam fists her hand and tries to control her tone. “Wouldn’t your military do the same thing to us?” _No, they strip search and whip you._ She’s ad-libbing, but on closer inspection, Sam’s pretty sure she’s got this argument won.

Daniel almost laughs at Teal’c’s answering tone. “He says no.”

_Crap._ “Oh.”

“They’d just kill you.” Or torture them, but he wonders if that’s not a difficult point for Sam.

Janet chuckles. “So this is better then. Look, I know you’ve done a lot for my friends.” Well, ‘friends’ insofar as she can now picture working with them with markedly less annoyance. “We’re grateful for that, but we need your help again. With… this.” She’s not sure what exactly, but maybe you’ve gotta start somewhere. Janet gestures to the staff, and Sam doesn’t hesitate in setting down and opening it.

Teal’c studies the young humans. Daniel Jackson is passionate, but he does not represent these people. _“Your military is concerned I am an infiltrator.”_ Teal’c prefers Daniel Jackson.

_“Yes.”_

_“Despite all I have done for you.”_ All of which is meaningless if he remains imprisoned here. Meaningless without the protection of O’Neill and the magic of a woman who controls a damaged Chappa’ai. Teal’c examines her carefully. She has not flinched under his gaze.

_“Yes.”_ Daniel frowns his agreement.

Teal’c acknowledges the tone of his ally. Daniel Jackson disapproves of his government, this is clear. But Captain Carter does not appear to. And they are friends. Teal’c raises his head solemnly.

_“Your people must know much hardship to be so cautious.”_ More cautious than his false god could ever be, or Teal’c himself would be long dead. This makes him proud.

Daniel nods carefully to the change in tone. _“Cautious when we can and brazen when we must.”_ He repeats.

_“I have chosen the correct people.”_ He sits cross-legged without preamble. 


	9. Work through It (Janet & Sam & Daniel & Teal’c)

Janet lost track of the time. Which is bad, because she really should’ve kicked them all back into their beds over an hour ago. But these guys…it’s almost hypnotizing. Daniel and Teal’c barely speak the same language. Heck, it seems like Sam and Daniel scarcely hold one in common, though they must have at least two.  _What’s a quantum cascade laser bandgap, anyway?_ But they just keep going, working through it.

Some part of her realizes she’s watching history in the making here. It’s the first time—well, second, she supposes—anyone from Earth has reverse engineered an interstellar technology. Color her unsurprised that it’s the same woman leading the way both times.

They’ve already gotten it to…what, activate?...on a remote power source. She’d’ve sworn Teal’c’s eyes glittered at that one, reflected in the portable blast chamber. And the jaded security guard had nearly jumped out of his skin. _You realize that’s less out of boredom than his preoccupation with her ass._ She glances at him again. Yep, still.

Either way, they are _fast_ at this. And more than exhausted enough to hurt themselves. “All right, folks,” she starts just a little too forcefully.

Sam jumps at the sound, nerves frayed with exhaustion and unsatiated curiosity. But she’s not about to have _another_ authority conflict in the first week. “That’s it for now, guys,” she says on her own, tapping Daniel’s shoulder.

“Sam, no—”

“Daniel, there is no way you’re going off-world on Monday if you haven’t slept since…” she trails off. _Abydos._

“I’m fine.”

He doesn’t look up. Teal’c eyes the exchange apprehensively. And by that, Janet means that she would be, because lord knows what that man is ever thinking. “Doctor Jackson, if you do not go to sleep right now, I will personally inactivate you for Stargate travel.” She tries to share an allied grin with Sam, but it doesn’t catch. “I am prepared to sedate you.”

Daniel’s looks between the officers and tries not to grouse. _“I have to go.”_ He directs at Teal’c in Ancient Egyptian.

 _“Your women believe you must rest.”_ Teal’c supplies, again eyeing the staff weapon from afar.

They’re still having some gender role issues. _“Yes.”_

 _“They are correct.”_ The general seems to use this as a dismissal and simply turns away.

“Good night.” Daniel picks his way through the mobile lab and refuses to meet their eyes. _Real mature._ He’s not going to be able to sleep.

“Good night.”

“Good morning.” Janet sighs to the closing door as Sam starts disassembling equipment. “That went well,” she murmurs.

“Definitely. It looks like blast-proof vests could reach alpha testing within a few years. Better yet, there really doesn’t seem to be a way to improve the weapon’s aim. It’s not a foci issue; the liquid naquadah is just too unstable. Even with their blast radius, we should be able to outshoot them. We might even be able to use a similar incendiary ourselves.”

Janet picks up a spectroscope heater that’s slightly less hand-me-down than the rest of her lab. So much for being sarcastic. “Exploding bullets?”

“Maybe.” Sam glances around for what else to disassemble. “I really don’t know anything about ammunition design. But I could see sort of pre-charging each round so that it shorts when the Teflon breaks on contact.”

Janet blinks into the optical pyrometer. _Aren’t you an astrophysicist?_ Yeah, an astrophysicist who’d prepared to lead a team through doing this all independently on the other side of the galaxy.

Sam turns to the silence. _Oops._ “We might be able to cut through deeper cover. And it’d mean fewer bullets per Jaffa.” _When did you get so readily morbid?_ It’s been less than a week since she first killed someone. On the ground. _Because lord knows the wreck you’d be if that day had been the first ever._

“Right.” Janet manages not to look uncomfortable at the practicality of that, but she’s glad Sam does. “Well, do me a favor, huh? Make the vests first.” She’s getting the feeling she’ll have far, far too many patients down here. “ _After_ you sleep.” Janet helps the captain heft some kind of… something made by National Instruments onto a miniaturized LAV vehicle. _Damn she’s strong._ Her ex would hate her. Excellent.

“What’re you working on?” Sam asks, wrestling with the oscilloscope tie-downs. The MALP’s still a little rough around the edges, which is pretty pathetic considering she hadn’t been designing it for the infirmary.

It’s a benign question, but Janet suddenly realizes she’s face-to-face with the woman that went from being a twenty-four-year-old post-doctoral fellow to the twenty-eight-year-old lab director whom a major general calls in personally. _Yeah, what exactly are you doing, Doctor?_ “Mostly studying Teal’c’s physiology. Non-intrusively,” she adds hastily. “And, you know, moving into my first duty assignment.”

Sam nods and looks again for equipment she can’t leave here. “Well, if you need anything.”

Janet’s virtually positive she’s going to take the senior captain up on that. But not right now. “ _You_ need to sleep too, you know.”

Sam casts her a glance. “Janet, I spent my first six months as a post-doc working fourteen-hour days commanding rifle squads at the Marine Basic School and logging thirty-hour weekends in the lab.”

 _God, she really is going to be one of those guys._ “ _Hundred_ -hour weeks?”

Sam snorts. “Yeah. Only forty short of Ranger School.” _And fifty short of what you just got done. Go. To. Sleep._

“That’s a bad idea right now, Captain. You have command responsibilities here.” Janet doesn’t need to be a fifth-year officer to recall that it’s dereliction of duty to exhaust yourself _before_ shit hits the fan.

Sam nudges the doctor’s shoulder with a smile. “My point exactly.” She lets herself yawn. “Good night, Janet.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You made it! Thanks! You are currently in a rewrite/missing scene series that runs roughly parallel with canon season 1. Which means there's more. :)

**Author's Note:**

> We're going to pretend this is seven chapters, but if you're new to my fic I should point out that I usually lie about these things. So maybe eight. Possibly twelve, you know how talkative Teal'c can be. :P


End file.
